Storms and Floods

Storms 

Storms can happen any time of the year. They can bring strong winds, heavy rain or snow, thunder, lightning, tornadoes and rough seas. Storms can affect wide areas, damaging property and disrupting services. 

Click here to find out what to do before, during and after a storm 

Floods

Floods happen frequently in New Zealand and can cause a lot of damage and loss of life.

Click here to find out what to do before, during and after flooding 

Landslides

Landslides can happen without warning. With soils already saturated, any further rain can means slips and landslides are likely.

Here are a few things to look out for so you can stay safe around landslides:

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  • Homes near hills or steep slopes are most at risk – so if that’s where you live, watch out for cracks or movement that could be a warning sign, and get quickly to safety.
  • Watch out for outside fixtures such as steps, decks, and verandas moving or tilting away from the rest of the house.
  • New cracks or bulges on the ground, road, footpath, retaining walls and other hard surfaces; and tilting trees, retaining walls or fences.
  • Look out for small slips, rock falls and subsidence at the bottom of slopes.
  • Be alert when driving, especially where there are embankments along the roads.

If you believe a landslide is about to happen, get out of the way quickly! Take your grab bag and pets with you if you can do so quickly.

You can report landslides at any time – email landslides@gns.cri.nz with the date, location and size of the landslide and any photos.

More information on how to get ready

Sandbags  

If you need sandbags please give us our 24-hour line a call on 07 868 0200 and we will advise where they can be collected from.

For information on how to fill and place the sandbags, download these instructions here.(PDF, 1016KB)

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